THE WORLD OF BEERWe have many interesting and unusual beers for the connoisseur
or casual imbiber.

Beer-drinking in the San Francisco Bay Area has come a long way over the past 30 years.
I remember we used to have a stack of "Hof-Brau" Beer in Quart bottles
stacked on a display by the front door. Three quarts for a dollar!

In the "old days," Coors beer from Colorado was a "cult" beer.
We used to have customers from various parts of the eastern U.S. stop by to get a case of
Coors, which we had to wrap up with a few yards of twine so they could carry this precious
liquid back home.

In those days the big brands, along with Coors, were Olympia (known as "Oly"),
Hamms (they used to have a magnificent beer glass sign which lit up San Francisco (in more
ways than one, I suppose), Lucky Lager and Burgermeister (Burgie). Nobody had heard
of Budweiser!

Today Budweiser is the big brand in California. Miller High Life is still around.
Coors isn't nearly as popular. Oly, Hamms, Lucky Lager and Burgie are distant
memories.

People who were looking for a "special" beer bought "Imported" beers.
Heineken. Tuborg.

Today it's a different world! We now see exceptional beers from around the world.
But not only that, exceptional beers are brewed all over the West Coast. From
Seattle to San Diego, there are "micro-brews" being crafted everywhere.

We have a broad selection of beers, but as with our wines, we prefer to offer
"quality" first. Shelf space is limited, so we don't have an encyclopedic
selection. If there's something special you're looking for, please send me a note
and I'll try to find a case for you.

The range of flavors in beer is probably as broad as the range of aromas and flavors in
wines. If you're conversant in "wine-speak," here are some similarities:

DRY, "WHITE WINE" BEER:Pilsner is likened by some as the "Chardonnay" of beers.

"CHAMPAGNE OF BEER"The wheat beers made in various European (and American) locales.

"ROS" of BEERThere are some exceptional fruit beers, typically from Belgium....raspberry
and cherry-flavored beers, for example.

THE "CABERNET" OF THE BEER WORLDLook to some of the British Pale Ales or those termed "India Pale
Ale."

"PINOT NOIR" of the BEER WORLDSome of the Belgian ales or Scottish Ales are likened to
"Burgundy."

LIGHT, DRY, "SHERRY"-LIKE BEERSThese would include the brews from Belgium called Lambic or Gueuze.

MEDIUM-BODIED "SHERRY-LIKE" BEERSYou'll find a nutty character in some of the Irish Stouts or dry
Porter-styled beers.

Otherwise....here are some suggestions of interesting, high quality beers we typically
have in stock.......

CONNOISSEUR BEERS:

AFFLIGEM
DOBBELThis beer is made in the style of a Trappist beer. The De Smedt brewery
was recently sold to Heineken, so it will be interesting to see if they tinker with the
recipe. This is a marvelous brown ale with a touch of sweetness. It comes in
25 oz. bottles, so be very thirsty or share a bottle with a friend. Fasten your
seat-belt, too.

STELLA ARTOISArtois is a place in Belgium and "Stella" is the word for
"star." It is Belgium's most well-known beer, being exported around the
world. I think they even brew under license in certain locales, so better check your
bottle to see if it's really Belgian beer. At the present time the stock here in
California is from Belgium. You'll see Stella all over Europe and the name is used
as a sponsor for various athletic events around the continent. It is comparable to a
good Pilsner, being light and mildly bitter. The 12-ounce bottles are offered in
6-pk format.

HOEGAARDENThe tale of Hoegaarden is interesting, the town of that name having been a
major center of brewing as far back as the 1500s. The nearby farms were cultivating
barley, oats, beets and wheat. Well, of course the wheat and barley are used for
this beer, but, at one time oats were also incorporated into the beer. What makes
this beer so distinctive is the use of coriander seeds and dried orange peel. The
fellow who brought this brewery back to life sold it to Interbrew and is now busy making
beer in Texas! Some say Hoegaarden isn't the same as it was in the 1970s, but it
still is a distinctively different, moderately hazy, flavorful beer.

CHIMAYThere
are but six Trappist breweries scattered around Belgium. We have several beers from
these monasteries. Perhaps the most famous (world-wide fame, anyway) is Chimay.
The monastic order here stems from the Abbey of Citeaux in Burgundy, France.
Brewing started here in the mid-1800s. The order also is famous for its cheese
production.
We feature Chimay "Rouge" in the small, 12-ounce format (we can special order
their other beers or the 25-ounce bottles, if you like). This is a lovely, very
flavorful beer with a hint of a sharp spice note (nutmeg, perhaps?). You'll want to
allow this beer to warm up from refrigerator temperature to about "cellar temp,"
55-60 degrees. A fine beer for roasted or stewed red meats, some claim this ages
gracefully.

CZECHVAR (BUDWEISER/BUDVAR)The logo to the left is the one you'll find on the bottles of beer sold around
Europe as "Budweiser" from a brewery in the Czech region of Bohemia.
The city known in German as "Budweis" and in Czech as "Cesk
Budejovice" was the home of many breweries once upon a time. Today there remain
two. One is Budweiser Brgerbru and the other is Budweiser Budvar.
The Anheuser-Busch firm in St. Louis, Missouri called its beer "Budweiser" way
back in the late 1800s. The Budweiser Budvar brewery dates back only to 1895, so
there's a likelihood that the American brand has been around longer than the Czech.
I see the Czech beer on my travels in Europe. It's an all-malt beer, whereas
American Budweiser has rice added to it.
In any event, "Czechvar" has arrived in the U.S. and we now have it in stock.
Make your own comparison.

NORTH COAST BREWING

This brewer is situated in Mendocino County...Fort Bragg, right on the
coast.

They've been around since 1988 and make some exceptional beers.

OLD RASPUTIN is a marvelous Russian Imperial Stout. It's black as night
in the glass and moderately bitter...

It's not a beer you slam down as a thirst quencher, but a beer to savor and
contemplate like a fine wine.

Now Pranqster could be a major thirst quencher on a hot day.

It's beautifully floral and fruity...

North
Coast hands over some of the proceeds from the sale of this beer to the
Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz.

This is a big, full-bodied brew...dark in color and with dried cherry notes and
a raisiny note...it's got a bit of sweetness and it's a beer you might want to
share with someone as finishing off a full bottle of the 9% alcohol brew is a
challenge.

Thought-provoking, though.

KONA BREWING COMPANY

The Kona
Brewing company was founded by a father & son team on the Big Island of
Hawaii.

For years the big brand of island brew was Primo, but now, finally, there was a
more artisanal beer.

We actually visited their warehouse-like facilities some years ago when the
company was rather new...and they made good beer. It's still a rather
nice, refreshing brew.

"Fire Rock" is typically in stock at the store...

ABITA BREWINGThis company began about 30 miles north of New
Orleans back in 1986 and, my, how things have grown!

We have their
Amber beer...it's reminiscent of a German lager with a mildly malty character.

You can easily pair this with a backyard barbecue as long as you're grilling
sausages and maybe some crayfish.

ROGUE ALES

A bunch of Rogues founded a little brewery and pub in Ashland,
Oregon back in the late 1980s...over the years, things have totally gotten out
of control and they're making a wide range of interesting beers as well as some
spirits!

They have
nearly two dozen beers...we carry the DEAD GUY ALE. Some people think this
is made in honor of the music group, The Grateful Dead. But it was
actually first brewed for the November 1st celebration of The Day of the Dead.

Some experts describe this as a Maibock-styled beer. It has notes of honey and
caramel with a faintly raisiny note to it. The sweet aspects of this fade
when you pair it with well-seasoned or spicy foods.

Fasten your seatbelt, though, It's a bit potent.

We can order other Rogue beers for you.

GREEN FLASH BREWERY

Green
Flash is another one of the myriad of San Diego-area breweries and they make
some really interesting beers.

A couple who owned a beer bar decided to try their hand at making beer.
They eventually brought on board a fellow to oversee brewing and the brand has
taken off ever since.

We carry their Le Freak...it's made with a combination of yeasts and so people
say the resulting brew is a bit freaky and schizophrenic. One one hand
there's a Belgian Ale sort of tone and on the other experts mention American IPA
character.

It's a fairly high-octane brew with some orange peel notes and candied
orange...maybe a touch of lemon...and then there's a note of spice with a 'hot'
kind of clove note.

DRAKE'S BREWING

Drake's
began back in the late 1980s when a fellow who brewed beer in the East Bay
brewery called Triple Rock went scouting for a new location to make kegged beer.

The Triple Rock owner and the beer-maker found an old Caterpillar tractor
warehouse in San Leandro and they set up shop there.

Well, these days they sell beer in bottles, as well as in kegs and the place
makes quite a nice range.

The Denogginizer is a bit of a calling card for Drake's and it's a lavishly
hopped beer. Citrusy notes dominate, but you'll probably detect a resiny,
almost pine-like tone in the background which gives this its particular
character.